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Just like Cal Ripken Jr. and the 1988 Orioles (story in this book that we love), this wasn't the easiest season for Zach's baseball team.  They played 18 games… and lost 18 times.  It was especially rough being a catcher in the first year of kid-pitch in UT, where there are a lot of wild pitches, and they allow base-stealing.  Some games and some innings and some at-bats were better than others; that is how baseball – and life – goes.  But what I am proudest of is the attitude you can see in the pictures from game 17… Zach giving it his all even when it would be easy to quit.  And for an amazing majority of the season, that is what he did at every practice, and at every game.  

Things he hung onto to make it through "the longest season":  

the "If you think you're beaten, you are…" poem

looking for "little victories" along the way (like a whole game of innings ended by getting 3 outs instead of 8 runs scored against them!)

and the following words from Mr. Ripken himself about his 21 consecutive losses:  

"Winning is easy on a person, but you learn more from losing.  You learn to keep trying, each day a little harder than the day before.  You learn how to be a beter teammate, and how much you need one another to play well as a team.  You even learn how to win."

Zach was sure that if they would have gotten to play a 22nd game, they would have won.  :)   But since they didn't, he's looking forward to next season… and is already spending every afternoon doing baseball drills in the unfinished basement.  

That sounds like a winner to me.

To this.

I love conference weekend!

Every year, the OMFS program holds a "chief dinner" to honor the chief residents – it was almost surreal that it was finally for Nate!  It was such a nice evening, and I was so proud of Nate.  It was so neat to see the respect and admiration he had earned from his co-residents and his consultants, who kept repeatedly telling he and Mike that they had become at least as good, if not better, than they who had taught them over the years.  Couple that with a child-free dinner and good company – it's definitley a night worth recording, even if the only picture I have is one we took with a timer after we got home… (Nate is laughing that I insisted on taking the picture 🙂

We had the debate on tonight while we cleaned up dinner and Zach was pretty interested… towards the end he asked for a paper and pen, which we gave to him without much thought.  What we weren't expecting was a pretty good rundown of the candidates positions – although we're not fact checkers, so you'll have to take his list at face value.  :)  Would you believe it goes halfway down the back of the paper too?   He told me when I was tucking him in, "I'm trying to decide who I'd vote for."  

Me too – but I'm not sure I could remember enough to make a detailed list like his.  Way to go, little voter.  Nothing like a 9 year old engaged in the political process to remind you to do your civic duty a little better.

  
Today after school we had NOTHING.  (Well, unless you count scouts, but that only involved us riding our bikes with Zach down to the church and him being dropped off barely an hour later…)  With our recent after-school lives of baseball, tennis, t-ball, and more baseball (often with at least 2 of them on any given day), it was absolute heaven to have the afternoon to ourselves!  We walked to meet the kids from school, rode bikes, took advantage of the 80* October day to break out the slip n' slide one last time, played driveway football, and E and C filled buckets with crab apples and conkers from our horse-chestnut tree (I told them I'd pay them a penny for each one they collected to get them off our grass – I didn't think I'd be shelling out almost $4 and still have a ton on the grass!)  

best.afternoon.ever.  

Emma had a birthday party up north, and we thought we'd make an adventure of it for the rest of us and visit the museum at Hill AFB while she partied away.  It was a whole lot more museum than we expected, and we all really enjoyed it!  Except Meg, who wasn't thrilled to not be able to touch everything/climb on the ropes around the aircraft inside/run around wherever she wanted.   Getting back into her carseat was the last straw for the poor little thing, and when all I had in my purse to buy a quiet ride home was a ring pop (that I knew would be a disaster) – I made the call that it was worth it.  

When I actually saw her face and hair when we got home, I wondered…

It sure was a quiet ride home though!!

**So, I am finally getting to the point where I am ready to put our last few weeks in MN into our family history.  I thought I might be most effective if I did them one at a time – so here is the first of what hopefully will be many "flashback Friday" posts until I get everything caught up!

The kids participated in the Med City Kids Marathon for the second year this spring, impressing me once again with the commitment and dedication it takes to run 25 miles in about a month to qualify to run the last 1.2 on race day!  

This year, they ended up cancelling the actual race not long before it began due to some strong thunderstorms moving towards the area that would likely hit before everyone finished/dispersed; the kids were so disappointed that after running 100 yards across the finish line and getting their medals, Nate ran with them along the course so they could really complete their marathon.  Both of them ran the whole way like champions – way to go, kiddos.  Yes you CAN!  

This is Carter headed to school on Cowboy Day.  (I had given him all sorts of "cowboy" clothing options, and this is what he insisted on.)  Looks pretty authentic, right?   

So Carter wasn't overly enthusiastic about signing up for t-ball – kind of like he thought it was what he "should" sign up for (although we definitely let him be the one to choose)… and I wondered how it would all turn out.  
After the first 3 games… it appears that he loves it.  LOVES it.  Loves being the one we all pack up and head out for; loves carrying his baseball bag "just like the major leaugers do, mom!"; loves batting and fielding and talking to the coach and sitting in the dugout and wearing his own helmet and being the one that gets the treat at the end.  
I had forgotten how much I love t-ball too!  It is so short compared to older baseball; kids run all directions after they hit the ball if they're not directed right to first base; and when a ball is hit everyone dogpiles to get it – except for Carter, who has watched enough baseball in his day that he puts one foot on the base and his glove in the air and waits for someone to throw him the ball.  And after every game, he asks his coach, "Did we win?"  - and although they don't keep score, his coach always says "Sure!" and Carter gets the biggest smile ever.  It has been so much fun watching him enjoy himself so much!